Doing Business

“Business as usual” does not really exist in the world of international research – as each project comes with its own unique challenges and opportunities. However, there are key areas of interaction and people within the institution that research administrators can be aware of going into an international research management position. When a snag happens in the middle of a project – perhaps a problem with a cash advance or hiring a foreign national – who do you contact within your institution for support? Do you have an established institutional Global Operations Network with identified international subject “experts” that can be contacted in a crisis or when funds are threatened due to an unexpected tax roadblock? Explore the most prominent aspects of globally doing business (from a research administration point of view) below.

Human Resources, Payroll, and Taxes (Labor and Tax Laws)

Many global research activities involve faculty, students, and/or staff working for various periods of time in the country of project operation. Some initiatives may involve transferring an employee abroad or relocating an employee for an extended period of time outside his or her home country. Still others may also necessitate hiring foreign nationals to work in their home countries in support of the project and/or hiring foreign nationals to work in the U.S. These issues can all present a range of legal, financial, risk management, and logistical considerations that can create complications and add expenses. Explore some of these issues and charts to help navigate the complexity in this section.

Payments and Purchasing

Navigating purchases and payments in the international arena can be challenging in many ways. Value added taxes, currency exchange, invoices, shipping, allowable payments to visiting foreign nationals, and other common issues can greatly affect your project if not anticipated and addressed early in the process. Review these issues here.

Templates, Presentations, and Other Resources

Are you wondering what not to do on a project? Have a story where everything went as expected (does this Holy Grail exist within global collaborations)? Did you learn something important in an instance that you would like to share with the community? Find these cases and other “I wish I knew…” examples here.